Spain 2011

           

What comes to your mind when you think about Spain!?          

Perhaps you think of Flamenco, tapas, Barcelona's soccer players, Madrid, Spanish, bulls or Sangria... Well let me tell you that Spain has way more things to offer, I was very curious and excited to finally explore Spain!!



10 days in Spain went by fast!! I was with friends that showed me the inside of the Spanish life and culture. I was aware that Spanish people like to party more than other cultures but, I underestimated this aspect of their fun, exciting, way of life.



Spain has festivals and parties all year round, in every city you could think off. I experienced Las Hogueras de San Juan in Alicante and it was incredible! Wood and paper maché structures known as hogueras are burned around the city. The whole city is engaged in festivities with lots of Mobil stages called barracas and live performances everywhere you go. I loved it! Lol I would have to describe Spain as FUN…

If you are planning on going to Spain, I encourage you to experience a festival
Here is a great website that offers festivals every month!http://www.travelinginspain.com/culture_spain_festivals.html




BARCELONA!

One of my favorite places in Barcelona- Montjuic! near Plaza España

Barcelona has become one of my favorite cities! I want to go back now! It has everything I love, It is a metropolitan city, with mountains, the beach is right there, it has culture, it is very international and there is always something exciting happening! I would move there in a heartbeat lol

Two FREE GREAT TOURS

1. Gaudí's arquitecture

2. Old City

http://www.runnerbeantours.com/

 

                 
you must visited La Sagrada Familia and go to Las Ramblas for some shopping

Alicante

                                                                                                                                                              

my Orange Family!

My time in Sweden is soon coming to an end. :( but first I have to talk about the orange corridor, more like a family. we shared everything!  the kitchen, meals, stories, food, laughs and much more. We definitely saw each other in our best and worst moments.

Starting with Victor!

who lives in front of me, spanish crazy, energetic, fun victor!

you were so friendly and warm since the beginning! always made

me feel comfortable. we went to London together, had a great time there, aww you taught me how to cook!! that's huge for me jeje I will always thank you for that. so many fun nights at aka, so many times cooking together and just talking about our countries, cultures and boys! haha I am really going to miss you. you are always welcome in Florida, Miami and Peru! and I know I will see you again.

con mucho carino, Jime

AnGELItA!  de por vida no!?  cuando te fui conociendo me caiste demaciado bien. Eres una de la personitas que agarre mucho cariño. eres diferente, con muy buen sentido de humor, positiva. SUPER fiestera y muy buena amiga. Me encanto haberte conocido. como voy a extrañar tirarme en tu cama tan comoda haha y ver pelis con Ricardo. y claro tratar de mantenerme despierta en tantas fiestas y AKA. enserio que espero tu visita en FL y Peru y yo volvere por Europa! TQM, Jime

NIcoluchi!! haha oh crazy Austrian Sandra I am so glad we had that intercultural Communications class together because that is how I got to know you better, I am not going to lie at the beginning I thought you were a very serious person but I was wrong! haha you are a crazy hiper, girl. I am going to miss all your crazy knock in my door and how you ramdomly stood in my bed upside down haha talking to you all the time and going to your room. I really hope you come visit me in Florida in the future. you are a great, caring person sandra. you are more than welcome to come whenever! =)

RICARDOOOOOOOO,

EL mexicano mas lindo que consco. eres un amigo increible riqui enserio que te ganaste mi cariño. nunca cambies te voy a extranar mucho! no tengo idea cuantas veces nos hemos reido, acuerdate que nuestra relacion es rara y complicada y eso es lo que la hace tan especial, me encanta molestarte. y sorry yo se que aveces me paso pero tu sabes que todo en jugando. enserio que me caes demaciado bien y me encanto averte conocido. espero tu visita en Fl y Peru.

con mucho carino, Jime

My little DAn Dan!! I am going to miss you so much. In such a short time I  got to know you and I know I can trust you with anything! you are hillarious and so smart. You always know what to say and how to make people feel better all the time. Your friendship is very special to me. I know I will go visit you guys some time in the future. but please come to Florida and lets stay in touch. remember we are good girls haha .  love, jime

ALEXXXXXXXXX jajaja

yo creo que esta foto explica nuestra amistad. un desastre, pero pura risa..  tan bien que me lo he pasado contigo desde el primer viaje a gotenburgo y sobretodo el crusero a Talinn que no hubriera sido igual sin ti! eres muy divertida y difinitivamente tenemos el mismo humor pesado y somos super distraidas and we just go with the flow. sorry my spanglish is coming out again haha. Aww I am going to miss your random dances and crazy unique expressions. haha  y tranqui que si conosco por ahi algun cabron no te preocupes yo te aviso! hahaha hay ale mas te vale que vallas por mis tierras!! si no yo vendre a las tuyas!! nos queda Estocolmo siesque llegamos...

con mucho carino! jime

 Alonsillo!! mi compatriotaaaaa ehh representando a PERU!! haha  I am so glad there was a peruvian in my corridor! and It is crazy how small the World is que vas a la Pacifico con mi primo! yo se que te voy ver cuando este por Lima so no te olvides de mi ah! Proibido! jeje it has been lots of fun making fun of all those spanish people around us.. haha mentiras. me caes super bien lokillo, you are a smart funny guy. no estudies tanto y espero tu visita x FL!! con carino, Jime

MAria y Amanda!! no tienen una idea como las extrano!! los dias en Vilhs No son los mismos sin todos ustedes. me siento Tan afortunada de aver podido conocerlas. las quiero muchos. estoy aqui con Ale y unas cervezitas refleccionando de toda esta maravillora experiencia con todos ustedes. y las dos forman gran parte de todo. desde las clases que llevamos juntas, todo en enrredo de TV production que alfin fue todo un excito! jajaja todas las fiestas, risas, salidas, cuentos, y todo compartido. jamas lo olvidare.

MAria- nunca cambies eres la Española mas dulce que conosco desde que llegue te agarre mucha confianza, admiro tus esfuersos en todo y se que eres una gran personita. gracias por la carta me gusto mucho! espero verte en Valencia y estas mas que bienvenida en Fl y peru!

Amandaaaaaa lo bien que me lo pase contigo. tu siempre con tanta energia y caracter! eres unica! jajaja

Española mas loca,pilas y amigable del mundo!! mas te vale que me hagas campo en esa lista infinita de amigos que teneis eh!! jaja  lo mismo ojalas te veo en Valencia y estas mas que bienvenida siempre

en fin las quiero mucho y extano y monton!! Suerte con todo chicas!!!

you where definitely part of my exchange experience I am so glad I got to meet you even if it was towards the end. we shared a few weeks together and it was great spending time with you, you are a very cultured, smart, funny guy. I am going to miss you. I hope to see you again in the future. :)

 

LibErTad...

Mucha libertad
El tiempo no tuvo mucha importancia
nuevas experiencias nuevas amig@s todo en
tierras que ya no les puedo decir lejanas por que ya es como mi casa.

 me doy cuenta de lo Peruana y Americana que soy
de lo mucho que valen mis dos lenguages
y con la claridad que entiendo a la sociedad del Continente de America.
de lo mucho que soy parte de dos mundos completamete distintos
y que ahora encontre otro mundo mas, Scandanivia!

Me llevo miles de increibles recuerdos y se que conservare amistades. entre que aprendi a concinar, conoci el paiz mas liberal del mundo holanda, vi el big ben en londres, tome un crusero hacia Estonia,  conoci un mundo mucho mas avansado y gente tan pacifica.


Llegue con un poco de miedo y un poco cansada del ritmo de vida Americana, pero me voy siendo otra.  Tengo todo mas claro...  y aunque me da tristesa pensar que se acerca el fin, me llevo recuerdos muy lindos y Solo me queda decir de lo agradecida que me siento de haber podido vivir todo esto <3

A Tolerant Country... Holland!

I don't even know where to begin...

Freewheeling nature is how I would describe Amsterdam. Holland is known for its coffee shops, the Red light district, it was the first country to legalized same-sex marriages and euthanasia. the windmills, the tullips, the canals, bicycles and much much more...

Amsterdam seems to be a city where anything is possible. where people have no boundaries, no laws  and are free to choose among the things that in most parts of the World are viewed as taboos. This is because the dutch  think it will happen anyway so they legalise it.
 "The logic is simple – tolerate it, rather than prohibit it and subsequently lose control"DutchAmsterdam.nl

It was pretty shocking to see the red light district for the first time, without been judgmental I coulden't help to wonder how this women end up there. the city is pretty because of the canals, but it is a bit messy and crowded in my opinion, there are so many sex-shops and coffee shops which creates the environment of the Freewheeling nature.




I noticed how beautiful holland is after visiting the windmills, the weather was perfect. I feel like I was able to capture the culture of holland in the windmills because everything seemed so  dutch, the flags, the people and the music.

Queen's Day the world’s largest street party!

we spend the day exploring the city, finding random small concerts, eating in the streets, riding the carneval games, and just enjoying the day. we even got on boat. there are celebrations throughout the Netherlands, free- markets, orange, and concerts are some words that define the day.




visit Keukenhof Holland, georgeous tulips. http://www.keukenhof.nl/en/ it is a beautiful park filled with so much color and people, the environment seems very artistic. we've spend most of our last afternoon in Holland there, amused by little kids playing in the park and realizing what a difference flowers make in any environment.

There is much of Amsterdam/Holland left to see but we managed to visit the Van Gogh Museum, and saw the I Amsterdam sign, next time I have to ride a bicycle through out the city. I leave Amsterdame entertained, Now that I have visited the most liberal country in the World and experienced the largest orange street party!

Cruise to Tallinn, Estonia!

 I have to say that taking a Cruise to  with Alexandra and Devin has been one of the most funnest trips in this six months.  it was a blast. just imagine 48 hours with like 2,000  students from all over the World, just having a good time.


 It included karaoke, speed dating, buffets, and clubs. of course we did it all, we danced all night, met a bunch of people, and visited Tallinn the next morning! it was a nice city with some interesting rusian churches all new to me. ahhh just talking about that trip makes me smile. :)

tomorrow we are off to AMSTERDAM!!!!

Spring in Sweden!

WHAT HAPPENS IN...

 when there is no more snow left... Spring aparently is here!

  I cannot believe it is already April!  I feel like studying Abroad is like taking a 4-5 months vacations! the school work is great, relaxed    because then again I am only going to school here and it is very   interesting. It has been great to take a semester off the hectic life back in the US because normally I would be working, taking full-time classes maybe doing an internship and involved in school.  I really like their education system in Sweden becuase there is no busy work.

 I just finished a class in Intercultural Communication that I really enjoyed because you learn about different cultures and how to be competent with others that have different customs and ideologies. I also took WebDesign, now I know how to create my own website and how to use Photoshop!  I will now be starting TV Production and french yes french in Sweden! very excited!

                                                                                                                                                                                March there was a weekend that it snowed a LOT, it was beautiful! people were getting sick and tired of the snow and I can completely understand because they have been here for a year!

  but I though it was incredible I actually went on a walk while is was snowing with masay, it was crazy.  I felt like I began to freeze but it was so much fun haha  I also went along the lake to granna and took a ferry to an island with two other friends, it was a beautiful sunny day and the lake was georgeous! everything was covered in snow... 

The parties of course have continued..  it is always fun, and you always met someone new because there are always visitors! I love it here.. life is great.. no stress, I love my roomates, we called it the orange family bacause our hallway is Orange. I am learning about new people, cultures, and of course traveling! ;D

I am very excited fot April because i will be going on a cruise to tallinn, Estonia! then to an Easter Get Away in Sweden and to top it off to Amsterdam for the Queens birthday!! :D

Back To The Beginning...

So when a Floridian happens to see SNOW! we like to take a picture and often ask... have you ever seen snow!!?!? haha I find all this talk funny nowadays...

I was in shock when I arrived to Stockholm!  I remember thinking... How do people manage to live in this weather!!?! It was incredible to see the amount of snow that this place had!  It was really cold, we had a lot a baggages, we were very tired and jet lag. at last I thought What Did I Get Myself Into...!?!?!

I was so nervous! But I coulden't let an opportunity like this one get away! I have been living without a winter for over a decade! so I figured I need to make up for it and move to Sweden for a little bit.. lol

The Winter in Sweden is very long... it constist of a lot of dark nights.. but it's also very beautiful... the whole town is covered in snow and it makes it so peaceful and relaxing. the weather is not always easy to deal with but you get used to it and whenever the sun is out

 it automatically becomes a beautiful day..

 things I would take forgranted back home...

Jönköping is at the southern point of Lake Vättern, the second largest lake in Sweden! infront of the whole city I get to see it everyday coming from my accomodation by bus or walking!

A little walk in the snown and along the lake with Sandra!

I love nature.. It's so peaceful..

I will never be cold again in Florida thanks to Sweden!

With Sandra